Toilet fill valve lock and method

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments of a toilet fill valve lock and method for adjusting the fill water level in a toilet are provided. In one embodiment a toilet fill valve includes a riser that extends along an axis and an inner shaft that is disposed along the axis between the axis and the riser. The toilet fill valve further includes a lock that is moveable toward and away from the axis and which can limit the movement of the riser relative to the inner shaft about the axis when in a locked position.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application incorporates the disclosure of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/653,444, filed Feb. 16, 2005, and therefore,claims the filing date of that application as priority.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many different types of fill valves for controlling the level of liquidin a toilet tank are known. In general such toilet fill valves operateby sensing the liquid level in the tank using a float. The toilet fillvalve is mounted at a height commensurate with the height of the tanksuch that the float position permits flow from an exterior water supplyto the interior of the tank when the water level drops below apredetermined level. Thus, toilet fill valves of this type are used tomaintain the water at a selected level and to refill the tank to theselected level following a flush cycle, as well as filling the toiletbowl to a selected level.

Toilet tanks are made in many different sizes and shapes and in manydifferent heights. If a replacement toilet fill valve is needed, it isdesirable to obtain a replacement that can be quickly and securelyadjusted to different lengths according to the size tank for properlypositioning the float. Conventional and/or pilot toilet fill valvesoften include a telescoping body that is adjustable to vary the heightof the float to the predetermined liquid level in the tank. Morespecifically, the body of the toilet fill valve can include an innershaft that communicates with the water inlet conduit, and a riser thatcommunicates with an outlet to the tank. Unfortunately, when thetelescoping inner shaft and riser are placed in the selected position orheight, improper installation, or physical bumping during the repair ormaintenance of the toilet, or water pressure and vibration can cause theriser to slip out of position. The water pressure then causes the toiletfill valve to rise, which causes the water to continue running and tooverflow the toilet tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention can be understood withreference to the following drawings. The components of the drawings arenot necessarily to scale. Also in the drawings, like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a side view of a toilet fill valve according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the bottom portion of the riser ofFIG. 1 showing flanges and a lock, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toilet fill valve of FIG. 1 showingthe lock in the locked position according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1 showingthe lock in the locked position, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the riser and inner shaft of FIG. 4showing the lock in the unlocked position, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective line drawing of another embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the lock of the embodimentof FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a toilet fill valve 100 according toan embodiment of the present invention. The toilet fill valve 100 istypically installed within a toilet tank (not shown) of a toilet. Thetoilet fill valve 100 includes a valve body 102 that extends along anaxis 103 from a water inlet 104 up to a top of the toilet fill valve100. The toilet fill valve 100 also includes one or more water outlets106 that allow water to flow into a toilet tank when the toilet fillvalve 100 is installed. The toilet fill valve 100 may be any style offill valve such as, for example, a ball cock valve, a pilot style valve,etc.

The water inlet 104 of the toilet fill valve 100 is configured to becoupled to a threaded connection 108 that can be coupled to a watersource outside of a toilet tank that delivers pressurized water. Thebody 102 of toilet fill valve 100 when installed is supported by flange109 and held in place by a retaining nut (not shown). The toilet fillvalve 100 also includes a bowl fill valve 110, which is operativelycoupled to the water inlet 104. When the toilet fill valve 100 is openand water flows from the water inlet 104 to the water outlets 106 andinto a toilet tank, an amount of water is also supplied to the bowl fillvalve 110.

The toilet fill valve 100 includes a float 112 that moves up and downthe body 102 of the toilet fill valve 100. The toilet fill valve 100also includes an actuating arm 116 that extends to a translating arm118. The translating arm 118 operatively couples the float 112 to a freeend of the actuating arm 116. When a toilet is flushed, water drainsfrom the toilet tank by means of a flapper valve (not shown), forexample, and the float 112 falls with the level of the water. Due to thefact that the float 112 is operatively coupled to the free end of theactuating arm 116 by way of the translating arm 118, the free end of theactuating arm falls with the float 112. The motion of the actuating arm116 causes the toilet fill valve 100 to open thereby causing water toflow from the water inlet 104 out of the water outlet 106 to refill thetoilet tank after the flapper valve closes. In addition, water flows outof the bowl fill outlet 110 and is typically routed to an overflow tube(not shown) within the toilet tank to the toilet bowl to refill thetoilet bowl during a toilet flush cycle. Therefore, the actuating arm116 is capable of moving from one position in which the toilet fillvalve 100 is closed to prevent overfilling to another position in whichthe toilet fill valve 100 is opened in order to allow water to flow intothe toilet tank.

The body 102 of the toilet fill valve 100 includes a telescopicallyadjustable riser 120 and inner shaft 122. Inner shaft 122 includes atleast one stop 124 having a series of protrusions or ridges 126extending therefrom and defining a plurality of grooves 128 between theprotrusions or ridges 126. The row of discreet grooves 128 are shown asparallel to one another, although they may be curved or oriented at anangle relative to one another, and are spaced along the inner shaft 122so that one end of the grooves 128 terminates at the stop 124 and thesecond end of the grooves terminates in open ends at a location remotefrom the stop. The protrusions 126 extend in a radially outwarddirection and also a distance, for example a circumferential distance,around a portion of body 123 of inner shaft 122. The inner shaft 122 caninclude at least one stop 124 but may also include additional stops, forexample, stop 130 having a series of protrusions 134 that define aplurality of grooves 135 and stop 132 having a series of protrusions(not shown) that define a plurality of grooves (not shown).

The number of stops can vary, although additional stops and theirrespective series of protrusions can provide increased resistanceagainst the water pressure to hold the riser 120 in place. Generally,each series of protrusions, for example the series of protrusions 126extending from stop 124 and the series of protrusions 134 of stop 130,can extend a portion of the distance from one stop to the next stop, forexample from stop 130 to the next adjacent stop 124. If there is onlyone stop, for example stop 124, then the series of protrusions 126 canextend a portion of the perimeter of the body 123 of the inner shaft122, so as to define a channel, for example channels 136 and 138, toaccept each flange of the riser 120, for example, flanges 204 and 206,as best seen in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the bottom portion of the riser120. The riser 120 includes a collar 202. The riser 120 slips over theinner shaft 122 upon assembly. In one embodiment, the collar 202 ismerely a portion of and is integral to the riser 120, or the collar 202may comprise a separate component attached to the riser 120, etc. Theriser includes flanges 204, 206, 208, 210 which protrude radially inwardfrom the collar 202. Each one of the flanges 204, 206, 208, 210 aredesigned to mate with one of the grooves, for example one of theplurality of grooves 128 (FIG. 1), defined by the series of protrusions,for example the series of protrusions 126 (FIG. 3), when the desired orpredetermined height has been reached and set so as to substantiallyprevent vertical movement of the riser 120 along the axis 103 as will befurther described. The vertical adjusting move involves rotating riser120 and shaft 122 until flanges 204-210 disengage from their respectivegrooves and lie in the channels 136, 138 at which point riser 120 andshaft 122 can be telescoped vertically.

In another embodiment of the present invention the riser 120 includes alock 220 having a body 222, a contact surface 224, and a release lever226. When a supply of pressurized water is connected to the water inlet102 (FIG. 1) as described above, there can be variation in pressureacross the toilet fill valve 100 which can results in a force urging thetoilet fill valve 100 in an upward direction. Relative movement betweenthe riser 120 and the inner shaft 122 (FIG. 1), caused by improperinstallation, or force and vibration due to physical contact or waterpressure, can cause the riser 120 to rotate relative to the inner shaft122 about axis 103 which can cause the flanges 204, 206, 208, 210 tomove out of the grooves of the inner shaft 122. The lock 220 which ismovable toward and away from axis 103 can limit the radial movement ofthe riser 120 relative to the inner shaft 122 when in the lockedposition as will be described in further detail below. The lock 220thereby prevents the flanges, for example flanges 204, 206 of the riser120 from moving out of the grooves 128, 135, (FIG. 1) and into channels136, 138, (FIG. 1) respectively, which would otherwise cause movement ofthe riser along the axis 103.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the adjustment of toilet fill valve 100 isdescribed with respect to a setting of the riser 120 to a predeterminedheight. When the flanges 204, 206, (in phantom) align along the body 123and within channels, for example channels 136, 138, of the inner shaft122 adjacent to at least one stop, or between a pair of stops, forexample between stops 124 and 130, and the protrusions 126, 134,respectively thereof, the riser 120 is free to move telescopically toadjust the height of the toilet fill valve 100. In this manner the riser120 can be adjusted along the axis 103 in order to adjust the height ofthe float 112 (FIG. 1). That is, the height of riser 120 can be adjustedby aligning the flanges, for example flanges 204, 206, with thechannels, for example channels 136, 138 of the inner shaft 122 and whenthe desired height is achieved, the riser 120 can be turned, in a firstdirection, for example counterclockwise, so that the flanges 204, 206,and 208, 210 (not shown) of the riser 120 each slide into a groove, forexample, a groove 128 (FIG. 1) formed by the plurality of protrusions126 (FIG. 1) of stop 124. That is, for example, flange 204 can residebetween two of the plurality of protrusions 126 of stop 124, and flange206 can reside between two of the plurality of protrusions 134 (FIG. 1)of stop 130. When the riser 120 has been turned such that the flanges204, 206, 208, 210 enter the grooves between the protrusions, furthervertical movement of the riser along axis 103 is substantiallyprevented. By substantially prevented, it is meant that movement alongaxis 103 is prevented except for some movement to the extent caused bythe differential in the relative sizes of the at least one flange andthe at least one groove in which it resides, including variations intheir respective manufacturing tolerances.

When the riser is rotated in a second direction, for example in theclockwise direction, the flanges 204, 206, can be moved out of thegrooves 128, 135 defined by the protrusions 126, 134, of the stops 124,130, respectively, to permit relative telescoping movement along axis103 between the riser 120 and the inner shaft 122. As mentioned above,the riser 120 includes at least one flange but in alternativeembodiments includes at least two or more flanges, for example, 204,206, 208, 210, which concurrently engage adjacent grooves associatedwith each adjacent stop. Also, it should be understood that the turningmotions could be reversed to adjust the height of riser 120. Forexample, if the grooves 128, 135, formed by protrusions 126, 134, areopen to the right of stops 124, 130, rather than the left of stops 124,130, as shown in FIG. 3, then the riser 120 would be turned in aclockwise position to slide the flanges 204, 206, of riser 120 into thegrooves, and the riser 120 would be turned in the counterclockwisedirection to move the flanges 204, 206 out of the grooves. Therefore, adesired water level in the tank can be precisely selected by moving theriser 120, and correspondingly the float 112, up or down within thetank. The selected height adjustment can be further held in place by alock 220.

In one example embodiment the lock 220 is in physical communication withthe riser. The lock 220 may be physically connected to the riser 120 bya separate structure, and in an alternative embodiment, it may beintegral with the riser 120. In this respect, the term “integral” refersto the fact that the lock 220 and the riser 120 comprise a singlestructure. Therefore the lock 220 may be included with the riser 120 asa portion of the toilet fill valve 100 in a single piece construction.More specifically, the lock 220 may be molded as a portion of the riser120, however in alternative example embodiments, it may be snapped orclamped or connected to the riser 120 or to the toilet fill valve 100 insome other manner.

In one embodiment the body 222 of the lock 220 can have a shape thatconforms to the shape of the riser 120, for example a curvature shape asshown in FIGS. 1-3. The body 222 of the lock 220 can also include arelease lever 226 and a contact surface 224. The contact surface iscapable of being placed in butting contact and out of contact with innershaft 122, and for example, the stop 124 of the inner shaft 122, asshown by the exertion of a force on the release lever 224.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the manner in which the lock 220 which can movetoward and away from axis 103 can be utilized to permit and also limitrotation of the riser 120 relative to the inner shaft 122. FIG. 4 is across-sectional view of the toilet fill valve 100 taken along lines 4-4of FIG. 1 showing lock 220 in the locked position. As shown in theexample embodiment of FIG. 4, the contact surface 224 of lock 220contacts a lock contacting surface 401 of stop 210 of the inner shaft122 thereby limiting movement, and eventually preventing movement, ofthe riser 120 in a direction as indicated by arrow 402. On anothersurface, a flange contacting surface 403 of stop 124, the flange 204 ofthe riser 220 interferes with the stop 124 of the inner shaft 122thereby limiting movement and eventually preventing movement of theriser 120 in the direction as indicated by arrow 404.

It should be understood, however, that it is not necessary that contactsurface 224 of lock 220 contact a stop, for example stop 124, when thelock is in the locked position. For example, the lock 220 can bepositioned such that there is a gap between contact surface 224 of lock220 and stop 124, so long as the distance, for example thecircumferential distance, between the lock 220 and the stop 124 is lessthan the length of the groove, for example groove 128 (FIGS. 1, 3). Inother words, when the flange 204 contacts surface 403 of stop 124, thegap between stop 124 and lock 220 is a distance that is less than thecircumferential distance that the protrusions 126 (FIGS. 1, 3) extendcircumferentially along body 123 (FIG. 1) of inner shaft 122 to form thegrooves 128. This can ensure that any relative circumferential movementbetween the riser 120 and the inner shaft 122 does not cause the flange,for example flange 204, to be moved out of the groove 128 and intochannel 136 to allow telescoping movement of the riser 120 relative tothe inner shaft 122 along the axis 103.

The contact surface 224 of lock 220 as shown in FIG. 4 is oriented at anangle alpha, α, that can range up to about 180 degrees, and in someembodiments up to about 90 degrees, relative to stop 124. In analternative embodiment, the contact surface 224 of lock 220 issubstantially in contact with stop 124, such as for example, where thefirst surface 401 of stop 124 and contact surface 224 of lock 220 aresubstantially parallel to one another.

In one embodiment lock 220 may include hinge 410 and hinge 410 can be inphysical communication with riser 120 in both the locked position (FIG.4) and the unlocked position (FIG. 5). Hinge 410 allows lock 220 toswing toward and away from axis 103 in a locked and an unlockedposition. Lock 220 in FIGS. 4 and 5 is shown having a living hinge thatcan be, for example, a thin, flexible web of material that joins tworigid bodies together, for example, the body of the lock 220 and theriser 120. As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 4, hinge 410 isv-shaped as a “v” wedge. The v-shape allows for a spring force, althoughalternative hinges and shapes of hinges can be used to allow movement ofthe lock 220 toward and away from axis 103 such as a “u” shaped hinge.Also, for example, hinge 410 can have two opposing v-shaped wedgesseparated by a thin piece of material. In another alternative, no hingemay be employed at all, where the material from which the lock 220 isflexible enough to allow enough travel of the lock 220 so that riser 120may be moved from the locked position to the unlocked position and viceversa.

Lock 220 and hinge 410, can be made of one of many polymers, forexample, thermoset and thermoplastic polymers, including but not limitedto, thermoplastic polymers, such as for example, polypropylene,polyethylene, polyester, nylon, and acetal. Although hinge 410, which isshown for example as a living hinge, can be designed to withstandthousands of flexes, the riser 120 of the toilet fill valve 100typically may only require adjustment a few times during the course ofits life.

In another embodiment, the release lever 226 of lock 220 can beoriented, relative to a tangential surface of body 222 of lock 220, atan angle beta, β, that can range up to about 90 degrees, and in analternative embodiment, up to about 45 degrees. The angled orientationbetween the release lever 226 and body 222 of lock 220 provides leveragefor movement of lock 220 away from axis 103 when a force represented byarrow 406 is applied to release the stop 124 of inner shaft 122. Whenforce 406 is applied to release lever 226, for example in a directiontoward the tangential surface of body 222, hinge 410 of lock 220 iscompressed and contact surface 224 is released from the stop 124. Thev-shape of hinge 410, combined with the material characteristics ofhinge 410, can provide a spring force that allows body 222 of lock 220,for example, to remain in line with, or conform to the geometric profileof riser 120 when lock 220 is in the locked position. In anotherembodiment, the spring force may cause body 222 of lock 220 to remain inthe unlocked position unless held down by stop 124 when in the lockedposition.

FIG. 5 shows lock 220 in the unlocked position. Lock 220 is shown movedin an outward direction, indicated by arrow 502, away from axis 103 andthe contact surface 224 of lock 220 has been moved a distance, d, thatis at least as great as the height, h, of stop 124 in an unlockedposition. When the lock 220 is in the unlocked position the riser 120 isfree to rotate in the direction as indicated by arrow 402. The flange ofthe riser 120, for example flange 204 can be moved out of the groovedefined by protrusion 128, and into channel 136, and additional flanges,if present, can be moved out of the grooves and into channels, such thatthe riser is free to move along axis 103. The height of the riser 120can be readjusted such that the flanges are inserted into differentgrooves and the riser 120 can be turned in the direction indicated byarrow 404 (FIG. 4) and lock 220 can be sprung back into the lockposition as shown in FIG. 4, for example, where the contact surface 224of lock 220 abuts stop 124 of inner shaft 122.

In the locking arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5, as just described it isseen that the engagement of contact surface 224 with lock contactingsurface 401 of step 210 is such that, when disengagement takes place bymeans of the force shown by arrow 406, the contact surface 224 rotatestoward surface 401, and, especially if surface 224 is flat and parallelto surface 401, at least a portion of surface 224 bears against surface401 throughout the disengagement. For this reason, surface 224 isinclined at angle x so that application of force 406 causesdisengagement as soon as the contact point of surface 224 disengagesfrom surface 401. The engagement of surface 224 is, as but seen in FIG.4, is at a point.

In FIG. 6 there is depicted an embodiment of the invention wherein, aswill be explained, the contacting surface 601 of lock 220 is parallel tothe lock contacting surface 401 and bears there against in the lockingposition, which forms a more positive locking surface. This is madepossible by lock 220 being reversed in position relative to the lockposition of FIG. 4. Thus, when disengagement is desired, application ofa force as shown by the arrow 602 causes contacting surface 601 torotate away from the contacting surface, as shown by the arrow 603 inFIG. 7, producing immediate disengagement, and therefore obviating thenecessity of producing an angle on contacting surface 601.

It can be seen that the circumferential orientation of the lock 220 inFIGS. 6 and 7 is opposite that of the orientation of the lock 220 inFIGS. 4 and 5. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the surface 224 of lock220 is spaced from the hinge 410 and butts against the lock contactingsurface 401 of the stop 124, whereas the lock 220 of the embodiment ofFIGS. 6 and 7 extends from the hinge 410 to the lock contacting surface401 by overlapping the stop 124 so that the contacting surface 601 bearsagainst the surface 401. Also, in the arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5, thedisengaging force (arrow 406) is in the direction away from stop 124whereas in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, it is toward stop 124,thereby producing immediate disengagement.

Although the invention is shown and described with respect to certainembodiments, it is obvious that equivalents and modifications will occurto others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of thespecification. The present invention includes all such equivalents andmodifications, and is limited only by the scope of the claims.

1. A toilet fill valve comprising: a riser that extends along an axis;an inner shaft that is disposed along the axis between the axis and theriser; and a lock that is movable toward the axis and away from theaxis, and which can limit the movement about the axis of the riserrelative to the inner shaft when in a locked position.
 2. The toiletfill valve of claim 1, wherein the lock comprises a hinge.
 3. The toiletfill valve of claim 1, wherein the lock contacts the inner shaft when inthe locked position.
 4. The toilet fill valve of claim 1, wherein thelock is in physical communication with the riser in both the lockedposition and the unlocked position.
 5. The toilet fill valve of claim of4, wherein the lock is connected to the riser via a hinge.
 6. The toiletfill valve of claim 5, wherein the lock is connected to the riser via aliving hinge.
 7. The toilet fill valve of claim 1, wherein the lock isintegral with the riser.
 8. The toilet fill valve of claim 1, wherein:the inner shaft comprises a stop that extends outward from the innershaft; and the lock contacts the stop when the lock is in the lockedposition.
 9. The toilet fill valve of claim 8 wherein the lock buttsagainst the stop when in the locked position.
 10. The toilet fill valveof claim 8 wherein the lock overlaps the stop when in the lockedposition.
 11. The toilet fill valve of claim 8, wherein the lock has acontact surface that is substantially in contact with the stop when thelock is in the locked position.
 12. The toilet fill valve of claim 8,wherein the lock has a contact surface that is oriented at an anglealpha relative to the stop, the angle alpha ranging up to about 90degrees.
 13. The toilet fill valve of claim 8, wherein the flange of theriser contacts the stop when the lock is in the locked position.
 14. Thetoilet fill valve of claim 8, wherein: the stop of the inner shaftcomprises a plurality of protrusions extending therefrom and forming agroove between the plurality of protrusions; the riser comprises aflange that extends inward toward the axis; and wherein the flange ofthe riser is positioned in the groove when the lock is in the lockedposition.
 15. The toilet fill valve of claim 14, wherein contact betweenthe lock and the stop restricts movement of the flange, when the lock isin the locked position, to prevent the flange from moving substantiallyoutside the groove to avoid telescoping movement of the riser relativeto the inner shaft.
 16. The toilet fill valve of claim 1, wherein: thelock has a body that comprises a contact surface that contacts the stopwhen the lock is in the locked position; and the body comprises arelease lever that is oriented at an angle beta relative to a tangentialsurface of the body, the angle beta ranging up to about 90 degrees. 17.The toilet fill valve of claim 16, wherein movement of the release levertoward the tangential surface of the body causes the contact surface ofthe lock to release the stop.
 18. The toilet fill valve of claim 17wherein movement of the release lever in a direction toward the stopcauses the contact surface of the lock to disengage from the stop. 19.The toilet fill valve of claim 17 wherein the movement of the releaselever away from the stop causes the contact surface of the lock todisengage from the stop.
 20. The toilet fill valve of claim 1, whereinthe lock comprises a hinge that is a v-shaped.
 21. The toilet fill valveof claim 16, wherein the hinge is a living hinge comprising polymer. 22.A toilet fill valve comprising: a riser that extends about an axiscomprising a flange that extends radially inward; an inner shaft that isdisposed about the axis between the axis and the riser; the risercomprising a stop comprising a plurality of protrusions extendingtherefrom and forming a groove between the plurality of protrusions, theflange being positioned in the groove; and a means for removablyabutting the riser against the stop of the inner shaft in opposingcircumferential directions.
 23. A method for adjusting the fill waterlevel in a toilet, the method comprising: adjusting the height of ariser to a predefined position along an axis relative to an inner shaftdisposed along the axis and between the axis and the riser; rotating theriser in a first direction relative to the inner shaft and placing aflange of the riser in contact with a first surface of a stop of theinner shaft; and moving a lock in the locked position to obstruct theriser from moving a circumferential distance that is greater than thelength of the groove.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:releasing the lock from the stop; and rotating the riser in a seconddirection relative to the inner shaft to allow movement of the riseralong the axis.